# Audrey Gordon

Audrey Gordon is a Canadian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 2019 to 2023, representing the electoral district of Southdale as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba. Alongside Jamie Moses and Uzoma Asagwara, she was one of the first three Black Canadian MLAs elected in the 2019 Manitoba general election.

## Early life and career

Born in Jamaica as the seventh of eight children, Gordon's family moved to Winnipeg when she was five. Gordon attended the University of Manitoba and where she completed both a BA and MBA.
Prior to entering politics, Gordon was the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and a provincial civil servant for 25 years.

## Political career

At the 2016 general election, Gordon stood in the central Winnipeg constituency of Fort Rouge. She came in second place to Wab Kinew, who later became leader of the Manitoba NDP, narrowing the NDP majority in the district; Manitoba Liberal Party leader Rana Bokhari, who did not have a seat at the time of the election, ran third in this riding.
At the 2019 general election, Gordon was elected in the southeastern Winnipeg constituency of Southdale.
In August 2020, Gordon was victim of a racist attack when a bench with her image on it was defaced with graffiti.
In May 2021, Springs Church, of which Gordon is a member, held an in-person graduation event. This was in defiance of restrictions meant to curb the spread of COVID-19. Gordon eventually commented on the event in a Facebook post, adding: "I have read several posts stating that I was present at the Springs graduation ceremony. To my knowledge, no evidence has been provided to substantiate this claim." Her Facebook page was later deactivated.
In November 2021, Gordon was criticized for offering "thoughts and prayers" to Manitobans who had their surgeries cancelled and placed on a waitlist of over 130,000 postponed procedures. As of December 7, the delayed procedure backlog has surpassed 152,000 and on December 8 health officials announced that they would look at cancelling additional surgical procedures as ICU beds are required for new COVID-19 patients that are being admitted to hospitals.
Gordon received further criticism from the opposition and in the media after a third of the nurses in the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) program resigned in March 2023. When confronted by the opposition, Gordon shifted the blame to "health system leaders" in the bureaucracy despite this being under her portfolio, bringing on more outcry over her leadership.
At the 2023 general election, Gordon lost re-election to Renée Cable in her riding of Southdale.

## Personal life

Gordon is married with two sons.

## Electoral record

vte2023 Manitoba general election: Southdale :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Renée Cable | 5,569 | 48.48 | +10.64 | $44,447.54 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Audrey Gordon | 3,922 | 34.14 | -8.26 | $50,821.24 |
| | Liberal | Robert Falcon Ouellette | 1,861 | 16.20 | +2.73 | $17,836.49 |
| | Independent | Amarjit Singh | 135 | 1.18 | – | $5,835.09 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 11,487 | 99.65 | – | $69,403.00 |
| Total rejected and declined ballots | Total rejected and declined ballots | Total rejected and declined ballots | 40 | 0.35 | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,527 | 64.72 | +3.06 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 17,810 |
| | New Democratic gain from Progressive Conservative | New Democratic gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | Swing | +9.45 |
| Source(s) Source: Elections Manitoba |||||||
vte2019 Manitoba general election: Southdale :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Progressive Conservative | Audrey Gordon | 4,493 | 42.40 | -9.2 | $24,558.56 |
| | New Democratic | Karen Myshkowsky | 4,010 | 37.84 | +6.9 | $14,122.65 |
| | Liberal | Spencer Duncanson | 1,427 | 13.47 | -3.3 | $137.10 |
| | Green | Katherine Quinton | 595 | 5.62 | +4.8 | $0.00 |
| | Manitoba Forward | Robert Cairns | 71 | 0.67 | New | $0.00 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 10,596 | 99.33 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 72 | 0.67 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,668 | 61.66 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 17,301 |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -8.1 |
| Source: STATEMENT OF OFFICIAL RESULTS BY VOTING AREA (PDF) (Report). Elections Manitoba. 2019. |||||||
vte2016 Manitoba general election: Fort Rouge :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Wab Kinew | 3,360 | 37.63 | -13.63 | $39,199.49 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Audrey Gordon | 2,571 | 28.80 | 8.64 | $42,245.54 |
| | Liberal | Rana Bokhari | 1,792 | 20.07 | -3.06 | $30,238.82 |
| | Green | Grant Sharp | 983 | 11.01 | 5.57 | $322.90 |
| | Manitoba | Matthew Ostrove | 175 | 1.96 | – | $945.26 |
| | Communist | Paula Ducharme | 47 | 0.53 | – | $33.67 |
| Total valid votes / expense limit | Total valid votes / expense limit | Total valid votes / expense limit | 8,928 | – | – | $44,855.00 |
| Rejected | Rejected | Rejected | 125 | – |
| Eligible voters / turnout | Eligible voters / turnout | Eligible voters / turnout | 13,896 | 65.15 | 3.92 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | –11.04 |
| Source(s) Source: Manitoba. Chief Electoral Officer (2016). Statement of Votes for the 41st Provincial General Election, April 19, 2016 (PDF) (Report). Winnipeg: Elections Manitoba. "Election Returns: 41st General Election". Elections Manitoba. 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2018. |||||||